Coronavirus Tax Refunds: Who Qualifies and How to Apply

• A court recently ruled that COVID-era consumer protections should have been extended by the IRS into July 2023.
• Consumers who were charged late-payment penalties during this period may be eligible for refunds.
• Refunds are not automatic, however: consumers will have to submit a request by mail.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused chaos across the globe. This was especially true when it came to many of the deferment, forbearance, and payment pauses that were put in place to protect cash-strapped consumers.

One area of costly confusion during the pandemic was tax deadlines.

The IRS believed that pandemic relief for taxpayers, included extended tax deadlines, was limited to one year from the outset of the disaster. Now, a November 2025 ruling in the case of Kwong vs. United States has determined that those protections actually extended for three and a half years, from January 2020 to July 2023.

This means that many taxpayers who were charged late or missed payment penalties or interest during this period were possibly charged incorrectly and are now owed refunds.

Who qualifies for a refund?

The simple answer is: anyone who was charged a penalty by the IRS for a late payment during the disaster period as defined by FEMA (January 20, 2020 through May 11, 2023, plus an additional 60 day extension ending July 10, 2023) may be eligible for a refund.

This includes individuals, small businesses, large business/corporations, and estates or trusts. And this isn't limited to personal income tax. Penalties on employment, gift, and excise tax payments are also applicable.

If you filed a return late during the disaster period and paid a penalty to the IRS, you may be eligible for a refund. If you were penalized during this period and haven't paid yet, you may qualify for an abatement to get your penalty reduced or absolved completely.

How to apply for your refund from the IRS

If you're not sure if you qualify, you can start by requesting your tax transcript from the IRS. You can download a copy of your transcripts online at irs.gov. Reviewing the transcripts can help you determine if you paid any penalties during the January 20, 2020 to July 10, 2024 window.

If you were charged a penalty during that period, you can download IRS Form 843, print it out, fill it out, and send it to the appropriate address (instructions are on irs.gov).

The IRS will not provide you with confirmation that the form has been received, so it's a good idea to send the form certified mail.

The refund request must be filed by July 10, 2026, which is three years from the end of the disaster period (plus extension). After that date, you'll no longer be eligible to request a refund.

Additionally, it's important to note that the Kwong ruling isn't technically final yet and the government is planning to appeal. So even if you do all of the work and beat the July 10 deadline, there's no guarantee that the ruling will hold up on appeal.

Still it's worth the effort, especially if you got stuck with sizable tax penalties during the pandemic.

While we wait to see what happens with the appeal, MMI's nonprofit debt relief solutions are here to help you get out of debt quickly, with a monthly payment you can afford. In fact, MMI's repayment plans come with a monthly payment that's $250 less than what you'd pay on your own, on average. Begin your free, online counseling session any time, 24/7.